Cikwes, Curator & Performer

Cikwes is a nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ soul singer and songwriter is multi award nominee from Bigstone Cree Nation. She currently resides in Amiskwaciy Waskahikan, also known as Edmonton, Alberta. In 2023, her album, kâkîsimo ᑳᑮᓯᒧᐤ, a full length Cree language album, was nominated for the Juno Awards, the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, Edmonton’s Music prize and the Western Canadian Music Awards and is a recipient of the Edmonton Artist Trust Fund Award. The Edmonton Journal describes her music as a moving listen, dancing around her powerful vocals. In Fall 2022 Cikwes graduated from York University with her Masters in Music. Her music explores her Cree language, nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ and nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ musical methods that include chanting cahkasinahikanak ᒐᐦᑲᓯᓇᐦᐃᑲᐣ also known as spirit markers or syllabics. Her intimate performances are accompanied with heartfelt stories and laughter. Using her breath and the Cree syllabics, she invokes a feeling of comfort similar to that of a wepisowin, a traditional baby swing. A matriarch for the revitalization of the Cree language and Nehiyaw musical methods, her nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ song writing is an emblem of hope and beauty for the continuation of nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ.

Cikwes, Curator & Performer

Cikwes is a nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ soul singer, songwriter and a multi-award nominee from Bigstone Cree Nation. She currently resides in Amiskwaciy Waskahikan, also known as Edmonton, Alberta. In 2023, her album, kâkîsimo ᑳᑮᓯᒧᐤ, a full length Cree language album, was nominated for the Juno Awards, the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, Edmonton’s Music prize and the Western Canadian Music Awards. Cikwes graduated from York University in 2022 with her Masters in Music. Her music explores her Cree language, nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ and nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ musical methods that include chanting cahkasinahikanak ᒐᐦᑲᓯᓇᐦᐃᑲᐣ also known as spirit markers or syllabics. Her intimate performances are accompanied with heartfelt stories and laughter. Using her breath and the Cree syllabics, she invokes a feeling of comfort similar to that of a wepisowin, a traditional baby swing. A matriarch for the revitalization of the Cree language and Nehiyaw musical methods, her nehiyaw ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ song writing is an emblem of hope and beauty for the continuation of nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ.

Kathy Hamelin, Elder

Enoch Attey, Musician, Sound Designer & Engineer

Holly Sangster, Saxophone Player